Major news flash: Mike Shanahan believes the Broncos are a better football team than they were at the end of the 2007 season.

Why?

“First of all, we weren’t very good at the end of the season,” Shanahan said. “Offense, defense and special teams, we were pretty average.”

Below average, in fact. The Broncos finished 7-9 in 2007, giving them a 16-16 record over the past two seasons, the worst two-year run of Shanahan’s 13-year tenure.

The eyes of the nation have noticed the Broncos’ mediocrity. To wit: ESPN.com ranks the Broncos 23rd in its most recent NFL power rankings, behind, among others, Arizona (17), Houston (20), the New York Jets (21) and Baltimore (22).

So it’s official, then. The Broncos, after two Super Bowls in the 1990s and years of playoff berths in the 21st century, have become afterthoughts across the nation.

Their reaction?

“That’s good,” Champ Bailey said. “It’s good to fly under the radar sometimes. You don’t want a lot of people gunning for you. Look at the Super Bowl champions. The Giants can’t walk by anybody this year. A lot of people are going to sleep on us a little bit, and that’s kind of how you want to play. You want to show people we’re good. They don’t have to expect us to be good.”

Truth is, it’s difficult to project how good these Broncos will be. They’re a mystery team filled with pluses, minuses, question marks and exclamation points. Take Jay Cutler, for instance. He has had to confront Type 1 diabetes, but he’s going into his third season, a time when the light goes on for most Shanahan- coached quarterbacks.

Then take the offensive line, where injuries hit hard in 2007. It’s conceivable the Broncos’ line could be a major strength next season, what with No. 1 draft pick Ryan Clady around and Tom Nalen and Ben Hamilton expected to be healthy.

Shanahan has made several changes on the other side of the ball, handing control of the defense to Bob Slowik and signing a few new starters. For all the question marks that remain on the defense, “I’ll be surprised,” Shanahan said, “if we don’t turn things around in a lot of different areas.”

Add it all up and what do you have? It’s hard to tell, but keep one thing in mind: The Giants were a run-of-the-mill team for most of last season, only to catch a wave and ride it to a Super Bowl victory.

“Who’s to say we can’t be that team that surprises everyone?” Bailey said. “Happens all the time in this league.”

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Tyreek Hill didn’t know what to do when he started hearing thousands of people in Arrowhead Stadium chanting his name, even as he stood all alone on the frozen turf waiting for the punt.